Short term apartment leasing services such as Airbnb should be prohibited in New York City.

Pros

Cons

A free market does not always shift towards the best choice for consumers or the economy, which is the case for AirBnB. As such, the government has a right and a responsibility to regulate it.

Full time airbnb units undermine communities and neighborhood civic life and engagement because they remove the possibility for neighbors who are invested in the life and culture of place, replacing them with transient people who do not know the people and history, or the issues there, and have no reason to invest in strengthening the neighborhood or getting to know the residents as friends.

Airbnb is unsafe and puts people at risk of damage and harm.

Airbnb has increased the price of rent in NYC and in doing so aggravated the existing shortage of affordable housing.

Airbnb creates additional supply within the housing and accommodation market that would be otherwise unavailable.

Individuals are entitled to use their private property for whatever purpose they want. Airbnb is merely facilitating fulfilment of this right.

Airbnb can offer a superior service as compared to traditional hotels and other accommodation services.